9 Movies Where a Woman Romances a Younger Man

Florence Foster Jenkins, which is out today, cast two huge stars—Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant—as husband and wife. One of the unusual things about this casting is that Grant is younger than Streep, just as St. Clair Bayfield was younger than Florence Foster Jenkins in real life.

But here it's not treated as a scandalous anomaly, which is usually the case in May-December movie romances where the guy is the spring chicken. (Which is annoying, since it's pretty much a given that Hollywood men will have much younger female love interests.) In fact, we wondered whether there were many movies at all where the female love interest was older—and we did find a few. Here are nine movie relationships between a woman and a younger man.

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'The Graduate'

The Graduate's May-December relationship is the definitive big-screen example, which speaks volumes—because the actress playing Mrs. Robinson, Anne Bancroft, was only six years older than Dustin Hoffman's 29-year-old "graduate." Age gap: 6 years.

'To Die For'

Nicole Kidman's Suzanne Stone, resplendent in a pale-green mohair sweater and purple eyeshadow, is a spotlight-hungry weather girl who enlists teenaged Jimmy Emmett (Joaquin Phoenix) to get rid of her husband. Age gap: 7 years.

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'The Good Girl'

Holden Caulfield pops up in small-town America with this 2002 flick. Starring Jennifer Aniston as an existentially challenged store clerk and Jake Gyllenhaal as her new, young (SO young! Look at that face!) colleague and, eventually, lover. Age gap: 11 years.

'Bull Durham'

We couldn't leave out this 1988 gem, featuring Susan Sarandon as a gorgeous baseball devotee who takes her pick of the Durham Bulls' players each year. This time around, it's "Nuke" LaLoosh, played by none other than Tim Robbins. Wondering whether Sarandon and Robbins, who were a real-life couple, met on this particular set? They sure did. Age gap: 12 years.

'The Reader'

Stephen Daldry's film about a concentration-camp guard, Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), and Michael Berg (David Kross), a teenager who becomes her lover, was controversial for several reasons, and not just because of the age difference between the protagonists. Strangely, Ralph Fiennes, who played the grown-up Berg, is older than Winslet. Age gap: 15 years.

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'Sunset Boulevard'

Joe Gillis (William Holden), a young screenwriter seeking Hollywood success, is drawn into the web of delusional actress Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson)—with lethal consequences. See for yourself. Age gap: 19 years.

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'Notes on a Scandal'

Based on the novel of the same name by Zoë Heller, Notes on a Scandal tracks the forbidden romance between teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) and student Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson). Age gap: 20 years.

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'Harold and Maude'

"What puzzles me, Harold, is that you want to sleep with your grandmother." So says a psychiatrist to this cult classic's death-obsessed protagonist about his joyous paramour, Maude—which just about sums up the other characters' opinions about this dark comedy's central relationship. Age gap: 52 years.